Filed under: Sedan , Toyota With competition from Ford , Chevrolet , Honda , Hyundai , Kia , Mazda and Nissan mounting, Toyota is getting set to unveil a refreshed version of its Camry sedan a mere two years after it was fully redesigned. According to a report from Bloomberg , Toyota’s move to freshen the still young Camry comes as it seeks to retain its US sales crown in the midsize segment . That desperation has lead to increased incentives and fleet sales in a bid to keep its title, all while trying to keep pace with a slew of very competent competitors . “It’s safe to say we’ll be doing something with it,” Bill Fay, group vice president of the Toyota brand in the US, told Bloomberg during last week’s LA Auto Show . “We’ll be paying significant attention to Camry next year.” Fay wasn’t willing to offer hints about what that “attention” would yield, but with a new Hyundai Sonata debuting in New York and increased production of the strong-selling Fusion both on the horizon, it’s possible the Camry could be in a bad way if tweaks aren’t made to keep it competitive. We can think of some things that’d help the Camry – more luxury features and technology along with a more fashionable exterior, to name a few – but what do you want to see Toyota do different? What would Toyota need to do to the Camry to make you think about buying one? Let us know in Comments. Toyota Camry to get ‘significant’ attention in 2014? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Nov 2013 15:45:00 EST.

Los Angeles, Calif. (November 20, 2013) – What if we could reduce driver distraction before ever putting a key in the ignition? That’s the focus of the Driver Awareness Research Vehicle (DAR-V) that Toyota unveiled at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show today.

Filed under: Sedan , Japan , Videos , Tokyo Motor Show , Toyota , Electric When Toyota first conceptualized a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle for mainstream Americans to drive, the initial response was pretty skeptical. Still, through relentless engineering and solid product after solid product, Toyota has built the Prius brand into the dominant force in the hybrid car market. Something like that plan of attack is what the Japanese company is preparing for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, as well, and that attack is seeing a critical salvo fired today with the debut of this FCV Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show . Though there’s nothing substantive to be said about rumors of a 300-mile range or a sticker price around $50,000 , the FCV concept does offer a few technical details. The sharp-beaked concept makes use of two high-pressure hydrogen tanks and boasts a power output density of three kilowatts per liter. Right now, the expectation is that Toyota will have a real-world version of this technology sometime in 2015. Continue reading Toyota FCV Concept comes one step closer to reality [w/video] Toyota FCV Concept comes one step closer to reality [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Nov 2013 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Concept Cars , Japan , Tokyo Motor Show , Hatchback , Toyota , Specialty , Design/Style As far as beasts of burden go, New York City’s new – and much maligned – Nissan NV200 ” Taxi of Tomorrow ” isn’t a bad one. It’s space efficient, reasonably economical, and its simple construction should mean it’s pretty robust over the long haul, too. But it lacks panache and a sense of occasion – let alone a sense of humor – three things this this Toyota JPN Taxi Concept we found at the Tokyo Motor Show has in spades. Unfortunately, that’s about all the information we have on this cheeky London-taxi-inspired showcar. Toyota hasn’t provided much in the way of details, other than to proclaim that the five-seat JPN was “created with Japanese hospitality in mind” and it “aims to enliven city streets.” Japan’s livery landscape has long been occupied by traditional three-box sedans – models like the Toyota Crown and Nissan Cedric. The JPN Taxi at just over 171 inches would appear to offer both a tighter footprint and added whimsy, both of which are in the automaker’s favor; we hear it hopes this concept will one day become the country’s own version of America’s yellow Crown Vic cab. Toyota isn’t providing powertrain specifications, but we like the airy feeling of the interior (Japanese cabs typically don’t have cumbersome partitions between cabbie and passengers), the minimalist driver area with three screens, and the widescreen overhead video system for passengers that bookends the panoramic moonroof. Check it out in our gallery of live shots and let us know what you think in Comments. Continue reading Toyota JPN Taxi Concept is a Japanese riff on an English classic Toyota JPN Taxi Concept is a Japanese riff on an English classic originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .